The seas are being used increasingly to harvest resources. Thus, for example, offshore wind parks are increasingly being built, and oil and gas have already for a long time been harvested even at great depths.
However, it is increasingly costly to provide the energy needed for the construction and operation of the plants by means of undersea cables. The laying of such cables may be a critical cost factor in the exploitation. In addition, the harvesting of raw materials in remote regions, such as beneath the Arctic, is gaining in importance. A power supply here from above the water surface is at times not possible, or not economical on account of the long supply lines required in that case.
It has therefore proven to be advantageous to provide apparatuses which are able to provide the necessary electrical energy on site and thus underwater.
From EP 2 666 956 A1 there is known a modular electrical apparatus which is located underwater and which can be used under high pressure at great depths where electrical energy is required.
From EP 2 194 638 A2 there is known a modular underwater power supply system.
From WO 2014/065926 A2 there is known a submersible power supply unit, offering the possibility of using power for charging of batteries.
From WO 01/91206 A2 there is known a fuel cell for energy supply underwater.
However, a problem is that the required amounts of energy can be very different. For example, during drilling operations or ramming operations a very large amount of energy in a relatively short time, and thus a high power, is required. In other applications, such as monitoring or control of relatively small underwater facilities, during standard operation often a very low power in the base load is required for a very long time, and at times the required power may be significantly higher in the short term.
Thus, the problem arises of providing an apparatus which provides electrical energy for consumers with very different power characteristics and energy characteristics underwater, in autonomous manner and independently of a connection to a supply system.